


A Wolf in Snake's Clothing

by SilverShadows



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-06
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2018-04-13 07:14:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4512828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverShadows/pseuds/SilverShadows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's 1980 and a law has been passed by the Ministry of Magic making it illegal for werewolves to have children. Remus Lupin and his pregnant, muggleborn girlfriend, Keita are in trouble. Keita goes into hiding while Remus continues to work for the Order of the Phoenix but when Keita is attacked by deatheaters their plans to run once the baby is born are ruined.<br/>James and Lily offer a solution, Lily is due in a few weeks and while people know she's pregnant the Potter's have been in hiding because of the prophecy, so only Poppy Pomphrey knows that Lily isn't carrying twins...<br/>Well that just leaves one question: how will Hogwarts cope with the Potter twins?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Moonrise

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing, J. K. Rowling owns all etc.

“Remus?” The worn, young man looked up from where he was sitting, head in hands on James’ couch. His friend’s hand briefly tightened on his shoulder before dropping away as he stood.

Poppy Pomfrey met his eyes sadly and shook her head before carefully passing over the wrapped bundle in her arms. “I’m sorry, the wasting curse just did too much damage and she was instinctively diverting her magic to protect the child rather than fight it.”

Remus’ eyes were fixed on the baby fussing in his arms. James wasn’t sure if he’d even heard, never mind understood Poppy’s words. He looked like a man caught in a nightmare, desperate to wake up but resigned. Remus’ life had already taught him that he would never wake to a better world but sometimes enduring the one he was living in seemed beyond him.

James stepped forward again, putting his hand back on his friend’s shoulder with a light squeeze, trying to comfort without words. Poppy drifted quietly away to give them privacy, talking in low tones to Lily, sitting on the other couch. 

She was getting big now, eight months along, struggling to move about and quite sick of being pregnant. She had recently started, when talking to the baby, to lecture on the virtue of punctuality rather than the stories she used to tell. There was an undercurrent of fear though and James knew that Lily would gladly suffer through countless more months if it meant their little boy would be born after the prophecy deadline. Still, this was his friend’s tragedy and he would be here to support him through it, and hopefully protect both their children better for it. After all the prophecy said a boy, not twins. “What are you going to call her?”

Remus looked up finally, eyes not quite focussed, but at least he was responding before blinking and his eyes cleared as he looked at his new-born daughter. The look he turned on James as he met his eyes was utterly miserable. “Does it matter if I name her when I can’t raise her? You and Lily should do it, she’s your daughter, not mine.” He tried to hand the baby to James who refused to take her.

“Remus please give her this, the ministry are assholes but don’t let them take this too. Even if Lily and I are the ones to raise her I know you’ll be there as Uncle Moony every step of the way and if the ministry weren’t a bunch of prejudiced pricks you’d be a great Dad.”

Remus seemed to deflate, sagging in place but clutching the baby to his chest and resting his cheek gently against his daughter’s head. James pretended not to see the tears.  
“I’m sorry.” His voice was roughened with tears and he wouldn’t meet James’ eyes. “I just… what more can they take? I can’t find work, I can’t get married, I can’t…” He trailed off, staring at his daughter, “I can’t have children.” He finished quietly.

“You could leave.” Both men jumped at Lily’s voice, as she walked over carefully, Poppy hovering at her elbow. “You could go somewhere with less restrictions. If you used muggle transport you could make it.”

Remus shook his head sadly. “I couldn’t protect her. What if I got out and hurt her on the full moon? Without being close to a potions master who can brew Wolfsbane I’d be too dangerous. If Keita…” He broke off with a sob.

“You can still name her, give her her first name since, thanks to those archaic restrictions, you can’t give her your last name.” Lily smiled encouragingly, sorrow and weariness visible in her eyes as she leant on James, letting her husband support her.

“Yeah Moony, are you really going to let me name her? I didn’t think you would be that cruel to a child! Who knows what I might come up with? Are you going to risk her ending up like Sirius’ little cousin Nymphadora?” Remus gave a rather wet-sounding snort, life returning to his eyes as his friend crossed his eyes and waggled his eyebrows before whimpering piteously when Lily smacked him in the stomach. 

“No fair Lils! I can’t smack you back now!” He whined.

Lily, with regal unconcern turned her head away and sniffed, “If anyone ever told you life was fair James Potter I regret to inform you that they lied.”

Remus snorted again, distracting the bickering couple before smiling gently at his daughter. “Artemis” he said, “Keita wanted to call her Artemis, Artemis Keita Potter.”

“Goddess of the moon and hunt, I like it.” Lily grinned.

“I hate to break this up,” Poppy smiled grimly, “But we need to work out what to do with Keita’s body. We can’t let her be found, it’s obvious to any healer that she was pregnant. As it is she disappeared after a deatheater attack where she killed two of her attackers and either escaped and went into hiding or was taken prisoner.”

“Whereas if they find her body they’ll want to know what happened to the kid and why Keita didn’t tell anyone she was pregnant.” Lily nodded, “And then they’ll haul Remus in because it’s illegal for werewolves to…”

“Breed.” Remus interrupted with a snarl. 

The others winced and Poppy sighed. “Look the point is she can’t be found. For Artemis’ sake as well as yours so what are we going to do?”

James sighed and fingered his wand uneasily. “I’ll transfigure her body into a fox and we can bury her in the woods under that big Oak in the clearing, she’d like that.”

“Right, yeah… she’d like that.” Remus, wide-eyed and grief-stricken, looked around, unsure what to do. 

Lily took charge. “Right. James you go do that, I’m sure Poppy won’t mind helping you while Remus keeps me company, ok Remus? Come sit on the couch with me so I can meet Artemis and get off my poor feet.” 

“Ok,” Remus blinked uncertainly as Poppy steered him over to the couch and helped him settle Artemis comfortably as Lily carefully sat back on the couch with James’ help and leant over to see the baby girl with a soft smile. “Hi there little one, I’m Lily and I’m going to be your Mum and this,” she gestured to her bump, “is your twin brother Harry, as you can see he’s running a bit late, obviously inherited his father’s time-keeping skills, but you’ll meet him soon enough.”


	2. Choices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Artemis live and learn at the Dursley's.

Harry and Artemis Potter were not normal children. They lived in a normal neighbourhood, in a normal house, went to a normal school with their normal cousin and came home to their normal aunt and uncle. To all appearances they lived perfectly normal lives but Harry and Artemis Potter had a secret, they could do magic! 

Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon insisted, almost desperately, that there was no such thing but Artemis and Harry knew they were lying. What other explanation could there be for how Artemis could turn into a wolf cub? Sadly, no matter how hard they tried, or how much Artemis explained what it felt like when she changed Harry had never managed to duplicate the feat. That was ok though because Artemis couldn’t talk to snakes like Harry could so they each had a special talent. 

They could do other things too sometimes, change the size or colour of things, like a horrible, old, stretched-out, grey shirt of Dudley’s that was now Artemis’ favourite blue t-shirt or the time Harry grew back his hair and the teacher’s turned blue (though they weren’t sure which of them that had been). It wasn’t as reliable as Artemis’ shapeshifting or Harry’s snake-speech but it was often useful, as long as they didn’t get caught. If they got caught they’d be locked in the cupboard for days, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon REALLY didn’t like magic.

Artemis was quite good at getting out of the cupboard. It was only the first time that she had to break the lock on the cupboard at seven to get out. Uncle Vernon had been incandescent with rage and they had lived on a slice of bread and water per day for a month until school restarted and the Dursleys had to let them out. 

This was how they had first discovered their powers. Up to that point strange things happened but of course it couldn’t REALLY be magic, everyone knew there was no such thing as magic. Artemis had always had tendency to growl when hungry or angry, her eyes changing from brown to gold in a trick of the light and she had very sharp nails, as Dudley had learned to his sulky fury more than once, but now: starving, watching her brother starve, and getting increasingly desperate she wasn’t trying to control herself and hide. 

Harry gaped as fur rippled over her skin and she snarled as her joints reversed until a young wolf was crouched where his sister had sat.

After that they became better at subtlety. Unlocking and re-locking doors, stepping quietly and leaving no traces of their presence. Once Harry curled up by the wall, repeating “I’m not here, you can’t see me! I’m not here, you can’t see me!” Focusing as hard as he could and Uncle Vernon had walked right past and not seen him, although Harry was left exhausted by the effort.

Harry didn’t make the connection straight away. Artemis had persistently been giving him her food, claiming to not be hungry and he had sort of assumed, when she slipped back into the cupboard late at night looking guilty and rubbing at her mouth, that she’d found something to eat. But he hadn’t thought enough about it to connect it to a crying classmate whose friends were consoling her over the death of her pet rabbit that had apparently been taken by a fox, the hutch broken open and blood on the straw. It wasn’t until he noticed Artemis standing in the shadow of the building, wincing and rubbing guiltily at her mouth while Sarah cried, her eyes fixed on the ground that he realised and struggled not to lose his lunch.

“What the hell did you do?” Harry hissed as he dragged Artemis further into the shadows, eyes flickering around, checking they couldn’t be overheard. 

“What?” Artemis glared at the ground, avoiding his eyes.

“You know what!”

At that Artemis met his eyes, “If you know then why are you bothering to ask?” She hissed viciously, eyes narrowed.

“You killed Sarah’s rabbit! You… You ATE it!”

“I was starving! You know they don’t give us enough to eat and I can only get so much from the bins! What did you think I was doing?”

Harry reeled back, “I…I…”

“Or were you just not thinking about it at all? Telling yourself if you didn’t know it wouldn’t matter? Sticking your head in the sand?” She spat.

“No! I… I…”

“You What?” Hard brown eyes met dazed green.

Harry swallowed and closed his eyes, “I didn’t think.” He admitted quietly, head bowed.

“Well start thinking.” Artemis tore her arm lose and gave him a scorching look of disdain, previously reserved for the Dursleys when Artemis thought they were being particularly stupid (and the adults at least weren’t looking). She took off across the playground to stand, hands fisted and shoulders trembling before the fence and Harry, a guilty feeling squirming in his stomach looked after her, thought she looked like a trapped animal desperate to run and escape it’s cage. Wondering if he still knew his sister, if he could have… would have… made the decision she had if he was in her place.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
“There has to be a line.” Harry broke the silence.

Artemis had ignored him all evening, sitting in their cupboard and doing her homework while facing the wall. Her mouth tightened.

Harry sat down, his back to hers and felt her muscles slowly relax. “You have to draw a line somewhere.” He repeated quietly.

“And where would you draw it?” She asked bitterly, “It was just a rabbit, it’s not like I killed a person.”

Harry twisted around in horror, grabbing Artemis’ shoulder to pull her around to face him. 

Artemis just rolled her eyes, “Oh don’t look at me like that, I wouldn’t.”

Harry sagged in relief.

“Besides, I bet Dudley would taste terrible.”

Harry choked and looked up, wide-eyed in disbelief before his eyes narrowed and he smacked his smirking sister. “I’m serious!”

“So am I, all that blubber. Ugh! I hate fat.”

“Artemis!”

She sighed and the smirk slipped into something sadder, gentler and her eyes suddenly seemed older, so that Harry had to remind himself they were the same age. 

“Where would you draw it then?” She asked quietly, that strange gentle smile still on her face, a knowing sadness in her eyes.

“Not pets!” Harry whispered emphatically, “Sarah loved that rabbit! You saw her crying. There’s wild ones in the park, why don’t you eat those if you have to?”

Artemis cocked her head in a manner that struck Harry as almost canine, her eyes shuttering and the smile vanishing as she took on a predatory air. “If it’s in a cage it can’t run. I can’t catch the wild ones yet, they’re too quick.”

Harry swallowed, “No pets.” He repeated, holding her gaze.

Slowly, she nodded. “No pets.”

“You don’t have to give me your meat…” 

Artemis interrupted. “They don’t give us enough, this way we both get enough to grow healthily. I’ll just get better at hunting.” 

Harry swallowed, but his sister was looking at him with that strange smile again that made her seem older, sad and gentle, but somehow… proud? He dismissed the thought even as it fluttered through his mind and nodded stiffly. “Ok.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry learns about his own unique talents.

Harry learned he could speak to snakes a few weeks later on a warm autumn day when the twins had finished their chores early and been told to get lost until it was time for them to help make dinner. He was sitting quietly on the grass at the edge of the wooded area of the park, practicing his ‘I’m not here’ technique while Artemis, in her wolf shape, crouched in the long grass beside a rabbit burrow. Utterly still apart from the slight twitch of her tail, waiting…

“Wwwwarrrmmmm ssssssssunsssssspotssss!”

Harry blinked, dropped his technique and looked around. He couldn’t see anyone, the only person around was Artemis and she was in no shape to talk. So where had the voice come from?

He jumped, head whipping back around at a scuffling which ended with a horrible shrieking noise, quickly cut-off. He turned back around, carefully not watching, as his sister shook her kill with a horrible cracking noise, ensuring it was really dead.

“Noisssssyy creaturesssssss!” 

This time Harry’s eyes caught on a small snake curled on a large rock that seemed to be looking towards Artemis, it’s small, forked-tongue flickering out to taste the air. He stared. The voice had sounded rather like hissing hadn’t it?

“Harry! Have you got that knife?”

Harry jumped again, twisting around to shout back; “Yeah Artemis, I’ll be there in a minute.” He turned back to the snake. “Hello, did you sssspeak jussst now?”

“Yooou can talksss?” The snake seemed more surprised to meet a talking human than Harry was to meet a talking snake.

“Ssssseems like it, have you ever ssssspoken to a human beforre?” The snake raised itself up as Harry crouched to put himself on eye-level with the snake and get a better look at it.

“No, nevvver. I didn’t know humanssssss could talkssss.”

“My namesssss’s Harrrrry, Harrrry Potterrrrsss.”

“What issss’ a namesss?”

“It’ssss ssssssomething you call yoursssselfff. Ssssssssooo people know which perrrssson you arre talking aboutss. It helpsssss ussss to tell each other apartsss.”

“Harry why are you hissing at that snake? If it thinks you’re threatening it, it could bite you. Are you going to come and help me make lunch or not?” Artemis strode up looking irritated, a dead rabbit dangling from one hand, the other trying to wipe the blood from her mouth.

“I wasn’t hissing, I was just talking and come and see! I found a talking snake.”

Artemis crouched next to her brother, “Hello?”

“Hellllo wolllfff-girrrlssss.”

Artemis met Harry’s excited gaze, “It just sounds like hissing to me. And it sounded like you were hissing before too.”

Harry frowned, “It sounded like English to me.”

“Magic?”

Harry sighed, “Magic, I guess. How come you get the cool power? I’d love to be able to run like you do.”

“I don’t know, and talking to snakes could be useful too. You’ve got private scouts that no one will suspect.”

Harry looked mystified, “Scouts? What, like ‘Be prepared’ and all that?” 

“No,” Artemis rolled her eyes, “Like that war film Uncle Vernon was watching last week. You know, scouts sneaking unseen through enemy territory kind of thing.”

They both looked back at the snake. It seemed to have gone to sleep.

Artemis sighed and stood, “Whatever, at least you don’t need to carry mouthwash and worry about getting blood on your clothes. Are you coming to help make lunch?”

“Yeah,” Harry brushed himself off as he rose, “Have you got the knife?”

“It’s by the fire, you want to try lighting it?”

“’Kay, how are we going to cook it then?” Harry gestured at the rabbit.

Artemis shrugged, “Well we’ve got the onion, oil, salt and pepper we nicked from the kitchen, I vote cut it into chunks and fry it. Unless you want to try and make a stew?”

“Nah, it’d take too long and we don’t have gravy stuff. Where did you get that frying pan anyway? It’s not from the house.” Harry asked, eyeing the small, metal pan with trepidation. “You didn’t nick it, did you?”

“So what if I did?” Artemis shrugged and rolled her eyes at Harry’s horrified look, “But no fusspot, I bought from the pound shop in town. There was a sale on a few items when Aunt Petunia sent me shopping the other week and I pocketed the difference.”

“That’s still stealing!”

“Why does this bother you but nicking onions n’ salt n’ stuff doesn’t? That’s stealing too.” Artemis gave him a look of pure exasperation, apparently completely unconcerned at her foray into crime.

“Because… Because… It’s just different!”

“How? We’re taking stuff they don’t give us either way and if they fed us properly we wouldn’t have to. They call us thieves anyway so why not give them a reason to?” 

Harry scowled, “Fine, but just the Dursleys. We don’t steal from anyone else. Just cos they call us thieves doesn’t mean we should steal. It’s still wrong, and what if you got arrested?”

Artemis shrugged, “Ok, just from the Dursleys. I think I would feel a bit guilty stealing from someone else anyway, but with the Dursleys we’re just taking what they should be giving us anyway.”

Harry shifted uncomfortably but said no more about it as the two children set about trying to messily skin the rabbit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would people prefer I just used italics for parseltounge? In retrospect the hissing might get annoying.  
> Thanks for reading :)


	4. Thoughts in the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title pretty much says it all. This one's pretty short but I want to set up some background for later choices.
> 
> I own nothing etc. If I did own HP I would be somewhere sunny, not contemplating ark construction in Scotland.

Harry and Artemis love the library. Without the library books, smuggled home in their backpacks, being locked in the cupboard would have been mind-numbingly boring. The best bit, as far as Harry was concerned, was that as they were hiding them anyway (they knew from experience that the Dursleys would take them away, saying that they wouldn’t be forced to pay to replace when the little vandals their niece and nephew were destroyed them) they could read about magic.

Artemis was rather more sceptical. She had gone through a phase of reading all the werewolf and shapeshifter books she could find; but after realising that silver didn’t burn her, she had no problems crossing onto holy ground (in fact she had hunted rabbits in the cemetery more than once) and she didn’t feel any sort of pull from a full moon (Harry maintained she was grouchier on full moons, she ignored him) she had decided that the ‘normals’ didn’t know what they were talking about. She had decided against trying anything with Wolfsbane and 'quicksilver' (mercury) as they were poisonous to humans too so that wouldn’t prove anything, and almost certainly make her very sick. She still enjoyed fantasy novels though, they had some interesting ideas that they could try to mimic and were fun, relaxing almost.

The best bit about the library though was the computer and its connection to the internet, even better the library would let you print a page for only five pence. Five pences could easily be found on the street or collected in pennies so the twins could print instructions. While sometimes they used this to learn about common magic theories (Wicca kept coming up, the twins quite liked it as a religion but it didn’t seem helpful otherwise, runes on the other hand were a godsend) and creatures it was also useful for more mundane subjects, the first time they used it being when they looked up how to properly skin a rabbit, having made quite a mess of their first try.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At eight years old humans are really quite fragile and not prepared to look after themselves, they need food, water, warmth and shelter that they are ill-equipped to find by themselves.

However by contrast a young wolf already has most of tools it needs to survive, if not quite thrive. It can find its own shelter, has a thick fur coat to keep it warm curled up in its den and can scavenge (the neighbours often swore at the mythical fox that kept knocking over their bins, as did a few restaurants in running distance) until it successfully learns to hunt and water is easily accessible from streams or even puddles. 

Artemis slipped through the back alleys like a shadow, reddish-brown fur blending easily with the dirty bricks in the dark. It had been a good night, her stomach full and as she’d been raiding bins she needn’t worry about explaining blood on her clothes to Aunt Petunia. Luckily her wolf instincts were less picky than her human mind, so it was easy to not think about what she was eating. The important thing was that she ate, she repeated firmly to herself. As long as she got enough food for herself Harry could eat the food the Dursleys gave her, as they gave them about enough for one person between the two of them this meant they’d both be healthy. 

She sometimes thought that if it wasn’t for Harry she wouldn’t bother going back at all. She could live in the woods on the edge of town easily enough, but something in her yearned to escape further afield. To start running across fields, past the county limits and just not stop. But she had Harry and she couldn’t do that to her brother, abandon him to face the Dursleys alone. Besides, if she ever wanted to live in the human world when she was older then she’d need school, and it provided easy library access, something she couldn’t get alone. Still, much as she loved her brother, her only pack, she couldn’t quite quiet the twinge of resentment as she slipped back into her human skin, and then the house. Front door closing behind her like the jaws of a trap. 

Harry lay in the dark, eyes open but unmoving as he listened to his sister quietly slink into the cupboard and creep under the covers of her cot trying not to jostle him in the cramped space, her movements smooth and predatory in the way they always are now, breathing quiet and controlled.

They lie in silence, both aware the other is awake but unsure what, if anything, should be said.

“I miss you,” Harry wants to say, “Come back to me. I don’t understand.” He feels like he’s being left behind, that Artemis is drifting further and further away while he clings desperately, refusing to surrender her to… 

To what? Herself? It’s like he’s all that’s tethering her to the world some days and that’s a big responsibility. Too big he feels sometimes and yet… He doesn’t want to be the one to hold his sister back. He desperately wants to ask… No... To beg her to promise him that she’ll always come back but at the same time he doesn’t want to. Doesn’t want to be his sister’s shackles. A quote he read in one of the books he borrowed from the school library last week keeps running through his mind: “If you love something set it free, if it returns to you it will be yours forever. If it leaves it was never yours to begin with.” 

Artemis returns every night, but he knows that doesn’t mean she will forever. And he dreads the day she doesn’t. The day her need for freedom eclipses her love for her brother. But he won’t ask her to stay. 

He loves his sister. 

He will set her free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review :)


	5. Rune

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They learn a bit more about controlling their powers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long, work's been hectic but I promise this story isn't abandoned. Thanks to everyone who's still reading :) & Happy Holidays.

Runes, as far as Artemis could tell weren't so much magic as a way to control magic better. The twins had done numerous experiments with various runes: Celtic, Gothic and Futhark (which they decided was usually the most useful if only because it was easier to get information about them.

  

Currently Artemis was sitting in their crowning achievement. In the woods at the edge of a large park there was a small area formed by the roots of a particularly large oak tree that was almost like a shallow cave. The twins loved this place. They could pretend even for a little while that the Dursleys didn't exist, that they were alone on a deserted island just like in that book by Enid Blyton, only better because they had magic too!

  

They had started using the space in the roots to stash things they didn't want the Dursleys to know about at six but anything they left unfortunately had to be waterproof and there was no guarantee it would be there when they got back. Precious things, like books or their frying pan, had to be placed in a plastic bag and carefully tied to branch high in the tree itself to keep them safe. This didn't always work and the twins had gotten a ticking off from the school librarian no matter how carefully they dried out the book on a radiator. They made sure to double bag any books after that.

  

Runes had started as an easy way to light a fire, a carefully drawn Norse rune for fire on pieces of paper which, when the twins concentrated would catch easily and light their camp-fire. They quickly expanded on this, perhaps predictably moving into invisibility and being unseen.

  

The runic wards around the oak tree were the result of over a year of research and several designs had been discarded before they decided on a final one. It had three layers, each laid out in a carefully measured pentagram and each line of the innermost pentagram was five feet long, the next out was seven feet long and each line of the outermost pentagram layer was thirteen feet long. This incorporated as many magically strong numbers as possible to strengthen the ward, the fact that the centre of the ward was a single oak tree should hopefully strengthen it further. The first, innermost layer had a Thorn rune carved into the exposed roots at each point (protection, non-action, luck and warning) with one of the points at due North, the second layer has a point due south (inverted) and a Hagal rune (limits, upheavals, risks, delays and shadows) carved into a rock (that took bloody ages) buried at each point. They werent sure if the inverted pentagram would affect the rune so the Hagal rune was specifically chosen because the inverted version would also be useful (disruptive forces and negative pay-offs), the outermost layer of wards had an inverted lagu rune (water, escaping temptations, greed and against conscience) carefully carved (scratched) into a sealed plastic bottle full of water (hopefully boosting the runes' power) and buried in a hole at each pentagram point.

  

This meant they were also invoking as many of the magical elements as they could, their campfire was at the centre with fire, life/spirit was invoked through carving on the tree roots, earth through the buried stones and water through the water-filled bottles. This only left air so an invocation was added in the casting acknowledging the air as everywhere and a vital part of the design and asking it to help protect their secrets.

  

They focused carefully on each carving and placement visualising the wards rising and protecting their safe place, turning intruders away without them realising what had happened.

  

It had taken them weeks to complete but they had stood in the centre of the wards and watched as a man out walking his dog had walked straight past them unseeing, the dog had paused and growled but didn't seem to be able to see them either and followed its owner after a moment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today was a good day, the sun was shining the birds were singing, now if only her fingers would stop bleeding. By this point the twins had accumulated a stack of rabbit skins, having learned through a combination of instructions from the internet and trial and error how to properly clean and stretch the skins. Now Artemis was trying to make Harry a pair of moccasins with runes for silence, luck and travelling unnoticed for their tenth birthday. So far she had discovered that while she could do the runes easily enough sewing was a lot harder than it looked.

  

“Hey Artemis, guess what!” Harry scrambled down into the cradle of tree roots, almost bouncing with glee.

  

“What?”

  

“Nuh-uh, you've got to guess!” Harry grinned.

  

“Aliens landed.” Artemis deadpanned.

  

“Nope!”

  

“Uncle Vernon got arrested.”

  

“For what?”

  

Artemis grinned, “Who cares? Hopefully something that'd get rid of him for a long time.”

  

Harry snorted, “Nice daydream but sadly I just found a twenty pound note.”

  

“Awesome!” Artemis scrambled to bundle her project into its bag and climbed up to secure it to a branch.

  

“So what're we gonna buy?”

  

“We could get you a collar.”

  

“You can't tell but inside I'm rolling on the floor with laughter.”

  

“Lets check out the charity shop, maybe we could get some shoes that fit.”

  

“Now **that** is good idea!”


	6. Musing on Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The twins talk about magic and learn.  
> In this 'verse the Dursleys became used to the twins vanishing together quietly and, as they certainly didn't want them around, allowed it as long as no one commented on it and the twins didn't draw attention to themselves.  
> The zoo incident never happened as the twins were simply locked out of the house and told not to come back until dinner-time as Vernon refused to take them to the zoo. Who knew what freaky thing they might do? The girl could turn into a wolf! He wasn't taking them near real ones. No sir!

"That's creepy looking." Harry commented as the twins were relaxing in what they'd taken to calling 'the hollow'.

Artemis grinned, showing off elongated canine teeth to match her wolf-gold eyes and clawed finger-tips. "Scared?"

Harry scoffed, "Not even close, but it'd make a bitchin' Halloween costume."

"I'm trying to improve my control. Change only certain parts at a time."

"Well you look more like a vampire than a wolf at the moment if that's what you were after."

Artemis rolled her eyes, "It's about visualising the change. I know what it looks like now and I need to impose my will on it and force it to change into what I want. It's like I'm seeing it happen." She narrowed her eyes, focusing on the hand she held up in front of her as it sprouted reddish-brown fur, the nails thickened and narrowed to claws and her fingers shrunk back to form pads. Then she stopped and, grinning, waved her paw at her brother who apparently couldn't decide if he was more impressed or nauseated.

Harry gave her a weird look, "Uh Artemis? You **are** seeing it happen."

"No I mean... It's like it happens **because** I can see it happen."

Artemis sighed at Harry's blank look and frowned back down at her paw, "I don't know how else to explain it." The paw flowed back into the shape of her hand.

Harry shrugged, "As long as it works I guess."

"Yeah, that anatomy book you got me is great, it really helped."

"Welcome," Harry grinned as he poked at the fire with a stick, “Think they're ready yet?”

Artemis stretched back to catch the little travel clock they'd bought for a pound in the charity shop off its place on the root/shelf behind her, “Yeah, should be.”

Harry carefully poked two small, foil packages out of the fire: “Rabbit and potato parcels with garlic and chilli, yum.”

Artemis grinned back and they settled to eat their dinner quietly before carefully dousing the fire and tidying the camp to head back to their Aunt and Uncle's house.

Head back with her eyes closed Artemis released a sigh as they walked quietly along the street, "I love the holidays, it's so peaceful."

"Hmmm." Harry hummed in reply, "You know you're about to walk into a lamp-post, right?"

Artemis stopped abruptly, opening her eyes; then turned to glare at her smirking brother in lieu of any lamp-posts on the street.

Harry snickered and scuffed his moccasins silently on the pavement, the runes still holding almost a year after his sister had so proudly presented them to him. He had to admit she'd done a good job, the runes had apparently also stopped people from noticing what he had on his feet so he could wear them all the time. He wouldn't be able to wear them much longer though, the magic might still be strong but the leather soles were wearing out fast now, and they were getting tight as his feet grew.

"I was reading this stuff about different types of magic the other day," he said slowly, "I think what we do with runes could be classified as enchantment."

Artemis hummed in reply, staring up at the darkening sky "Ok..."

"I was looking at green magic, it's magic to do with plants and life force 'n stuff. Like when we direct energy to heal cuts 'n stuff..."

"Okaaaay?"

They walked in silence for a bit, then without looking Artemis reached out to poke her twin in the shoulder.

"What?" He grouched.

"That's my line. What about green magic? Why did you bring it up?" 

Harry sighed, "I was trying to come up with a way to grow herbs without being noticed, we might not manage chilli or garlic but thyme and rosemary are nice seasonings and lets face it meat tastes a lot better seasoned."

"Suppose we could get some small, empty pots from the shed." Artemis frowned, "I doubt anyone would notice. And we could take some cuttings. there's rooting powder in the shed too."

"Worth a shot."

"Okay, but if we caught taking the cuttings..."

"Yeah, lets do that at like 3am or something."

"Good plan, have you been practicing your light ball?."

"Yep, it's getting easier to hold it for longer. You?"

"A bit, it's easier just to shift my eyes though."

"Lazy."

"Eh. I'm still nicking garlic from the kitchen anyway, she'll never notice a few cloves."

"This is how I know you're not a vampire."

"Well I used to be a werewolf but I'm alright nooooooooooow!"

"That's terrible," Harry said flatly, "I'm ashamed to know you."

Artemis just laughed and stuck her tongue out at him, "Getting nearer our birthday."

"Yeah, what do you say we take it step further this year?" Harry grinned, eyes alight with mischief.

"What do you mean?" Artemis raised and eyebrow in turn.

"Camp out all night! No Dursleys at all, all day!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry updates have been so infrequent but blah, blah work ugh. Hopefully I'll be better at keeping it a bit more regular this year but sadly this isn't what I get paid for.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The letters arrive.

Harry shifted, uncomfortable on the uneven ground. “Before we do this again we need a few more supplies,” he muttered, “We might have to suspend doing it on our birthday for a year or so.”

Artemis opened one golden eye but otherwise didn't move from her position, curled into a tight ball with her paws tucked under herself and her tail over nose.

“A camp-bed and sleeping-bag,” he continued, “these runes to heat the ground and blanket are good but it doesn't change the fact that the air is bloody freezing out here and rocks are not soft, I've never appreciated that cot more, and at least the cupboard is inside with the central heating.”

Artemis flicked an ear and rolled her visible eye.

“What the hell does that mean?”

This time the young wolf closed her eye and heaved a sigh before moving her tail so it covered more of her face.

Harry made a noise that sounded vaguely growl-like in return before pulling the blanket over his head. “And an eye-mask, I didn't realise how early dawn is this time of year.” That got a snort of agreement from his currently lupine sister.

***

It was 5:30am according to Harry's watch and the 24th of July, he was currently wrapped in a blanket and carefully nursing a slowly (far too slowly) growing fire. Artemis had gone rabbit hunting leaving him to prep the fire for breakfast and continue to add to his list of things they needed to scavenge before their next overnight, outside jaunt.

It was perhaps not so unreasonable then that his first reaction to an owl landing next to him was to stare blankly at it and wonder if he was hallucinating from lack of sleep. His second thought was to wonder if owl tasted like chicken (there were only so many ways to prepare rabbit after-all) before he snapped to awareness enough to realise that the owl had something papery attached to the leg it was holding out to him. Silently cursing his own 'no eating pets' rule Harry cautiously reached out to untie the letter.

He was still staring at it in disbelief when Artemis wandered back to camp, dead rabbit in hand.

“What've you got there?” Artemis inquired with a raised eyebrow as she settled by the fire.

Harry's only response was a wild-eyed look and a strangled noise that had Artemis' other eyebrow raising as she cautiously inspected the state of her twin. It was at this point that a large tawny owl, which had previously been concealed by foliage in the tree above, landed beside Artemis with a satisfied-sounding hoot. The girls' response to this was perhaps understandable considering the twin's lifestyle but that wasn't much comfort to the clueless, frightened and struggling owl which found itself pinned to the ground by a snarling wolf.

“Wait, wait Art! Don't hurt it!” Harry leapt to his feet, hovering near the snarling and screeching ball of predators, not daring to move closer. “It's got a letter for you, that's all.” As the bleeding wolf looked in disbelief at her brother the owl flapped its wings and managed to ascend back to its perch in the tree with an affronted, and extremely angry screech.

Artemis seemed to blur for a moment as she shifted to her human form. “A letter?” She looked up at the owl which fluffed itself up to seem bigger and hissed at her. She blinked in response and looked back to Harry.

“Yes, look. It dropped it in the fight!” Harry picked up a somewhat crumpled envelope and triumphantly held it out. “Go on, open it!”

The envelope was in old-fashioned, heavy paper and addressed in green ink.

Miss A. Potter  
The Den  
Black Park Country Park,  
Little Whinging,  
Surrey.

_Dear Miss Potter we are delighted to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…_

“This...” Artemis looked at her brother who was almost dancing on the spot. “I have no idea what to do with this.” She admitted.

“We're not alone! There's others like us, a whole school for people like us! And we can go and get away from the Dursleys!” Harry was practically vibrating on the spot.

“Yeah…” Artemis drew the word out uncertainly, “Could we go though?”

“They've invited us!”

“Yeah but Aunt Petunia & Uncle Vernon are our legal guardians. Do you think they're going to let us go?”

Harry seemed to deflate on the spot. “Well… It sounds like a boarding school. Look, the bit about needing a winter cloak, if they're telling us to get that in the summer it's probably because we won't have access to shops between the start of term and the winter right? The Dursleys might let us go if it meant getting rid of us?”

“Not if they had to pay for it. Aren't boarding schools expensive?”

The twins stared at each other, then went back to examining their letters.

“It doesn't say anything about money… though we would have to buy the equipment” Harry murmured, biting his lip before glancing back up and meeting Artemis' eyes. “We could write to this Deputy Headmistriss, Ms. McGonagall and ask for more information, maybe there's a scholarship or something we could apply for?”

“We'd have to write for more information anyway unless you've got an idea of where to buy a cauldron,” Artemis replied, eyes now on the equipment list. “Can't hurt to have as much information as possible if we're going to try and persuade the Dursleys to go along with this.”

“Do you have a pen?”

“Uh yeah, I think...” Artemis dropped her letter and started rooting through the waterproof bag they kept for supplies, then paused. “Wait, we don't want to send a letter to our prospective deputy headmistress on scrap paper, especially if we're trying to ask about scholarships. We need to make a good first impression, lets get an envelope and go to the library to do this properly.”

“But will the owl hang around while we do that?” Harry asked anxiously, they both turned to look at the owls sitting patiently in the tree (or in the case of the owl that had delivered Artemis' letter, pointedly preening itself and rearranging its feathers huffily).

“They seem pretty smart...” Artemis said hesitantly. Harry's owl puffed up and resettled its wings importantly while Artemis' seemed to glare at her before returning to its preening.

“Hello,” Harry directed his most winning smile at the owls, “Do you think you could do us a favour and hang around, or maybe come back around dinner-time?” Harry's owl hooted importantly in reply, settling in on the tree and tucking its head under its wing for a nap. Artemis' owl took off abruptly with another angry screech and flew out of sight through the trees.

“Well this one seems willing to stick around,” said Artemis doubtfully, “Maybe if we leave it some rabbit it'll stay until we get back?”

“Worth a shot,” Harry grinned and carefully cut some bloody chunks of flesh of Artemis' latest catch and arranging them on one of the raised tree roots. “Ok breakfast, post office, library. Sound right?”

“Yeah, dig out some money for the envelope would you?”

***

Having politely requested a sheet of printer paper for the final copy the twins were trying to list things to mention in the letter and work on a 1st draft with a few sheets torn out the back of their homework jotters.

“OK, before I write it out is there anything we need tochange? And check my spelling would you? Dear Ms McGonagall...”

“No, look she signed the letter 'Professor' use that.”

“Dear Professor McGonagall,

My name is Harry Potter and I am writing on behalf of my sister Artemis and myself. We recently recieved letters of invitation to Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and wizardry and would like to request further information as we are very interested in attending.”

“Sounds good, but you've got the ie in received wrong, it should be 'e' first then 'i'.”

“Oh right. Anyway: We have compiled a list below of questions it would helpful to have answers to if you can spare the time.

Is Hogwarts a boarding school?  
What are the term durations?  
Is there a possibility of staying at school during the holidays?  
Are there any fees to pay to attend Hogwarts?  
Are there any scholarships available that we could apply for?  
Where can we buy the equipment on the list? (second hand shop recommendations would also be helpful)  
Do we have any legal rights/are there any loopholes that would allow us to attend if our guardians forbid it?  
What subjects would we study at Hogwarts?  
How do these subjects correlate to jobs after school (some examples would be helpful)?

If it is possible it would be very helpful to have a representative of the school come and talk to our guardians.

Thank-you for your time.

Yours Sincerely,

                       Artemis and Harry Potter.”

“That sounds good, can you think of anything we need to add?”

“Nope. You write it out, you've got better handwriting. Think the owl is still there?”

"Guess we'll find out."

 


	8. Chapter 8

_Dear Mr and Miss Potter,_

_I am pleased that you are interested in attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and would be happy to visit with yourself and your guardians to answer any questions you have. I will admit to some surprise at some of your questions as I would have expected your Aunt, Petunia Dursley, to know the answers to several of them from when your mother, Lily, attended the school._

_I could visit to discuss your attendance with your relatives on the 30 th or 31st of July or the 1st or 3rd of August. Please send a response with the owl indicating the preferred date. I will arrive at 10am precisely as this will give us time to discuss the matter of your schooling and for me to accompany you on a trip to Diagon Alley to purchase your school equipment and textbooks._

_In response to your questions in the letter I enclose the following list:_

_Is Hogwarts a boarding school?_

_**Yes.** _

_What are the term durations?_

_**The Autumn term is from 1 st September to December 20th. The Winter term is from the 5th of January to the 20th March. The Spring term lasts from April 14th to the 30th of June.** _

_Is there a possibility of staying at school during the holidays?_

_**You can opt to remain at school for the winter and spring holidays but not during the summer.** _

_Are there any fees to pay to attend Hogwarts?_

_**No, it is paid for by taxes from adult wizards through the Ministry of Magic. There is an additional income-assessed fee for students' families but as orphans you are not liable for it.** _

_Are there any scholarships available that we could apply for?_

_**No, there is a relief fund but as you will have access to your trust vault on turning eleven you are not liable for it.** _

_Where can we buy the equipment on the list? (second hand shop recommendations would also be helpful)_

_**There are many appropriate shops in Diagon Alley, I will be happy to escort you.** _

_Do we have any legal rights/loopholes that would allow us to attend if our guardians forbid it?_

_**Yes, it was clearly your parents' wish that you attend Hogwarts so you can appeal to the Ministry for an exemption to overrule your current guardians if necessary.** _

_What subjects would we study at Hogwarts?_

_**All first and second years take a standard course comprising Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Astronomy and History of Magic. There is also a mandatory class on flying for first years.** **At the end of second year you will pick a minimum of two extra subjects from the choices of Arithmancy, Muggle Studies, Divination, Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures. You cannot drop any of the core subjects at this time. In fifth year you will sit your O.W.Ls and in seventh year your N.E.W.Ts these are the standardised tests recognised by the International Wizrading Council and assessed by the Ministry of Magic.** _

_How do these subjects correlate to jobs after school (some examples would be helpful)?_

_**I have enclosed some pamphlets on various careers, I would be happy to discuss any you are interested in in more detail and/or direct you to more specific information on the subject.** _

_I hope you find the information helpful and will await your owl as to your preferred date for a visit._

_Yours Sincerely,_

Professor Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

***

“Our birthday?”

“Yep, maybe they'll take pity. Or at least not want to deal with magical lawyers.”

“The latter seems a possibility. We probably shouldn't give them any warning. I mean if they apparently know about this but are ignoring it...”

“Then they'll probably refuse to stay in and meet the Professor.”

“So Mum was like us huh?”

“Yeah. Think Dad was too?”

“Dunno. Maybe.”

The siblings stared at the campfire and occasionally turned their skewers. 

“If she knew about Mum maybe she knows about Dad.”

“We can ask.”

“It's weird isn't it? Thinking that they knew I mean. That we're not the freaks the Dursleys say. There's a whole community like us. Our parents were like us, or our Mum was at least. We're probably normal for our kind.”

“Yeah, maybe Aunt Petunia's the freak.”


	9. A visit from Professor McGonagall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Professor McGonagall comes to talk to twins.

Morning dawned bright and early on the 31st and the twins were awake and nervous when Aunt Petunia rapped on the door of the cupboard. 

“Up! Get up now.”

***

“When should we tell her?” Artemis hissed under her breath as she passed Harry on her way to set the table.

“Not until almost 10.” He replied with a shifty glance at their Aunt who was fussing over 'Dear Diddykins'. “Not until it's too late for her to leave the house.” He expertly flipped the bacon and rolled his eyes, “If she's supposed to know about this stuff she's done a great job of pretending all these years...”

“And I don't see her giving that up easily.” They exchanged a grim look as they plated the Dursleys' breakfast. The battle lines had been drawn. 

***

The time was 9:58am. The morning chores were complete and the twins were washed and dressed in their best clothes. It was too late for Aunt Petunia to leave the house as she'd never get Dudley moving that fast and they really doubted she'd walk out and leave him behind. Aunt Petunia was busy watching Mrs No. 2 pruning her rose bushes through the net curtains.

“Feel like you've been eating caterpillars?” Artemis muttered.

“Only if the butterflies are on steroids. Feels more like pissed-off cats clawing me up from the inside.” Harry returned.

“Both graphic and gross.” Artemis made a face.

“Thank-you.” Harry smirked, “So are you going to tell her?”

“Why don't you tell her?”

“How about together?”

“Urrgh, I guess.” Artemis plastered a rigid smile on her face. “Lets get it over with.”

“Ok, but please stop smiling like that. It's really disturbing.”

The twins came to a stop behind their Aunt.

“Aunt Petunia?”

The woman span around, startled and spat: “What are you doing? Don't sneak up on me!”

“Sorry Aunt Petunia, but we've got something important to tell you.” Harry glanced sideways at Artemis.

“What could you two possibly have to say that's important?” Aunt Petunia sneered dismissively, but her eyes were narrowed and her lips pursed.

Artemis took a deep breath: “At precisely 10am today a representative from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is coming to discuss our education.” The doorbell rang. “I expect that's her now.”

Petunia stood frozen. Her face completely white, bloodless to the lips and her eyes blazing with fury. “How did you find out?” She whispered hoarsely.

“They sent us letters inviting us to the school.” Harry glanced at Artemis who inclined her head slightly towards their Aunt and slipped into the hall to answer the front door. “Aunt Petunia we should go meet Professor McGonagall.” 

His Aunt clutched at her apron and spat: “You will not be going! We swore when we took you in that we wouldn't put up with this… this rubbish under our roof!”

Harry's mouth thinned in turn as he raised his head, standing as tall as he could: “Then you'll have to deal with a magical court case. As magical children whose magical parents made their wishes regarding our magical education known we are entitled to attend a magical school. Professor McGonagall will therefore file an injuction with the Ministry of Magic on our behalf if you refuse to let us attend a magical school such as Hogwarts.” 

Aunt Petunia gaped in disbelief while Harry wondered if there was any other way he could emphasise magical & legal problems if she made trouble.

They both turned to the door at the sound of a throat clearing.

***

Artemis slipped into the hall, paused to smooth her t-shirt and take a deep breath, then opened the door. 

The woman on the porch had a stern appearance; her hair scraped back into a severe bun and her long, green coat buttoned tightly. She smiled, “Hello, you must be Miss Potter, I'm Professor McGonagall.”

“Good morning Professor.” Artemis stepped back, opening the door wide, “Please come in, would you like some tea?”

“Tea would be lovely Miss Potter, thank-you.”  


“If you'd like to hang your coat up here Professor I'll make the tea and you can talk to Aunt Petunia in the lounge, would that be alright?” 

“Certainly Miss Potter, may I enquire if your brother is present?”

“Yes Professor,” Artemis smiled, showing the deputy headmistress into the lounge. “He's just talking to Aunt Petunia in the kitchen, I'll go let them know you're here. Please make yourself comfortable.”

“Thank-you Miss Potter.”

***

Artemis raised an eyebrow as she stepped into the kitchen. “Aunt Petunia Professor McGonagall is sitting in the lounge. The quicker you deal with this the quicker it will be over. Harry she asked about you so I suggest you go and introduce yourself while I make a pot of tea.”

Aunt Petunia spluttered while Artemis put the kettle on and retrieved the good loose-leaf tea and the strainer. “You… How dare… You little… Just you wait until your uncle gets home!”

The twins exchanged a nervous glance at that before Harry opened the kitchen door and held it, “Come on Aunt Petunia, why not get it over with?”

With a sweeping venomous look at both twins she stalked out of the kitchen. Harry made a face at Artemis and followed. Artemis took a deep breath and got the good tea-set down from cabinet and some fancy biscuits from the tin. “May as well be hung for a sheep as for a lamb.”

***

“Mrs Dursley I presume. I am Professor Minerva McGonagall, the deputy Headmistress and transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I am also the head of Gryffindor House which your sister Lily was a member of. I knew her well and if I may say she was a bright and diligent student who would have gone far had she the chance. Her loss was a great loss to our community as a whole.”

Aunt Petunia pursed her lips, sitting rigidly on the overstuffed, horsehair armchair. “I am afraid that my niece and nephew have wasted your time… Ma'am.” She sniffed, “They will be attending Stonewall High, the local comprehensive starting in September. My husband and I swore when we took them in that we would put a stop to all this…” Her nose wrinkled slightly as if smelling something unpleasant, “This magic rubbish.”

“You would deny them their heritage?” Professor McGonagall was entirely unmoved, only raising a single eyebrow at Petunia Dursley's statement.

“That heritage got my sister killed!” Petunia snapped, eyes flashing.

“There are always risks in life Mrs Dursley,” Professor McGonagall stated calmly, taking a sip of tea. “Your sister was a brave woman with strong convictions, she chose to take a stand and fight for those convictions...”

“And she died for them! And then left me to raise her orphaned children.” The teacup clattered in the saucer as Petunia slammed it down too hard, tea spilling over the edge of the teacup. “They are not going! I will not have magic under my roof!”

“What?” The twins; who had been watching, wide-eyed at this exchange looked at each other and then back at Petunia. Artemis' eyes narrowed while Harry exclaimed, “You told us our parents died in car crash!”

McGonagall made a noise reminiscent of an angry cat. Before closing her eyes, taking a deep breath and setting aside her teacup. “I see. I regret to inform you Mr Potter, Miss Potter, that you have been misinformed. Thirty years ago a wizard calling himself,” She hesitated, “Calling himself Lord Voldemort came to power. He was so feared that even today people don't use the name, instead referring to him as 'You-Know-Who' or 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named'. He preached that only those born of magical parents were worthy of having magic, that those magical children born to non-magical or 'muggle' parents like your mother were not worthy of their gifts and should be second-class citizens or even killed. Your parents' both fought against this man and his forces but on the 31st of October 1981 he caught up with them and they were both killed, your father at the bottom of the stairs and your mother in front of your cot, it is assumed they were trying to protect you both. I'm afraid no-one really knows what happened, but somehow He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named also died or was somehow defeated and gravely injured that night. You were found unharmed but for a strange cut on young Mr Potter's forehead, your parents dead and nothing but some bloody robes left of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. It is generally assumed that having killed your parents he turned his wand on you Mr Potter. But for reasons unclear, perhaps your mother's sacrifice on Samhain, that is an archaic term for Halloween… It, well it used to be a very important date in the magical calendar and it's possible that by coincidence the elements of a very powerful, magical ritual were brought together. In any case, as I said no-one really knows the truth of it, though there has been much speculation over the years but you survived and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named... Didn't. Or not whole at least. As a result you are rather famous in our community.” She blinked rapidly and picked her teacup back up, eyes bright. 

There was a moment of silence as the twins tried to absorb the new information. Professor McGonagall took another sip of tea, her hand trembling slightly.

“They are not going.” Petunia's voice was low, her head ducked and her hands fisted in the skirt of her dress.

Professor McGonagall straightened still further in her chair, “While you certainly can try to persuade them of that Mrs Dursley their parents' wishes were very clear. If you refuse to allow them to attend Hogwarts or a comparable magical school then they have the option of requesting that I file an injunction with the Ministry of Magic on their behalf to have your decision overruled. This is a procedure that would normally be very straightforward and usually result in a decision in favour of the children. With these children the result is not in question, there would be a public outcry if the Potter twins were denied the right to attend Hogwarts as their parents did. So my only question Mrs Dursley, is am I going to the Ministry to file the injunction and coming back tomorrow or am I taking the twins to Diagon Alley to get their school things?”


	10. Gringotts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The twins travel to Diagon alley.

Professor McGonagall strode swiftly along the pavement while the twins scurried behind her to keep up. “There are several commonly used forms of magical transport in Britain: apparition, the Floo network, broomsticks and the Knight bus. Apparition is an advanced magic that allows you to disappear from your current location and appear at a new one, provided you have been there before and can visualise your destination. It requires training, you will have the option of learning to apparate in your sixth year. You can take a passenger in the form of 'side-along apparation' but each passenger increases the risk and difficulty. I prefer not to side-along more than one person at a time so we will not be using this form of transportation today. The Floo network requires a connection at both ends, you step into one fireplace and step out of the other using 'Floo powder' which is a patented magical substance. However the fireplaces in question must both be connected to the Floo Network. As we do not have a nearby fireplace that is connected to the network we cannot use this method to travel today. Broomsticks are more commonly used in sports nowadays but are still sometimes used for transport. However, not only would it take far too long to reach London in a suitable time-frame for our business, we also do not have any brooms. Today we will be taking the last form of transportation I mentioned: the Knight Bus. Please watch carefully while I summon it so that will know how to do so should you ever require it.”

She finally stopped in an empty alley and glanced back at the wide-eyed twins. “However before I do so I must ask Mr Potter if you wish for me to place a glamour on you?”

Harry blinked, “What's a glamour?”

“A glamour is a term referring to an illusion, usually a charm, cast on a person or object to conceal something or otherwise alter perceptions. In this case Mr Potter I am suggesting that we alter your features so that you are not immediately recognisable. You may have been absent from our world for a long time but you are the very image of your father at a comparable age, though you have your mother's eyes, for his were hazel like your sister's.” She paused to smile briefly at Artemis before turning back to Harry with a raised eyebrow. “As I stated before you are rather famous in our community. I thought you might like to experience your first entry into our world and complete your shopping in peace rather than be mobbed by excited fans.”

Harry swallowed hard, “Um, yeah. Thanks, that'd be good.”

“Very well, hold still Mr Potter.” Professor McGonagall waved her wand in a complicted looking motion over Harry before stepping back. “There.”

Artemis stepped forward, “Harry?”

“Yeah? How do I look?”

“Different. It's weird, I know your're my brother but you don't look like the Harry I know.” She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes, studying him. “Your hair is lighter and a bit longer, and your eyes are dark brown. Your face is a slightly different shape too, it looks rounder.”

“Still handsome though, right?” He grinned.

She rolled her eyes and smirked, “Don't worry, your natural prattishness shines through.”

“Hey!”

Professor McGonagall watched in amusement before brushing off the nostalgia to clear her throat. 

“Sorry Professor.”

“Yeah, sorry.”

“Quite alright children, you rather remind me of your parents actually,” She favoured them with a slightly sad smile, “Anyway, to summon the Knight Bus you merely hold out your wand arm like so...”

***

The Knight Bus was uncomfortable and ridiculous, why the hell couldn’t they fix the armchairs to the bus floor? But it was a transport method they could use alone if they needed to which made the awful ride worth every moment.

The Leaky Cauldron wasn't very impressive and the twins stuck close to Professor McGonagall, slinking quickly and quietly through the pub while eyeing their surroundings warily. 

“Morning Professor McGonagall, escorting muggleborns for their shopping?” The bar-man greeted them with a cheery smile. 

“Yes Tom, could we book a private room for lunch from 1pm to 2pm?”

“Certainly Professor, I'll expect you at one. Enjoy the alley kids!”

Professor McGonagall led the twins through the pub into a small, walled courtyard at the back, “Now I know you must still have many questions but I'll ask you to keep it to general, school-related ones while we're in the alley and I'll tell you more about the war and your parents in private at lunch. Agreed?” 

“Yes Professor, thank-you.” “Thanks Professor.” Chorused the twins.

“Now watch carefully, you must count three bricks up and two across from the highest point of the rubbish bin. It is held in place with a permanent sticking charm so it will always be in the correct place. Now you tap this brick with your wand, this is not a real spell so, as with summoning the Knight Bus, you will never get get in trouble for using underage magic when doing either.” She tapped the brick and stepped to the side as the bricks moved, allowing the twins an unobstructed look at the alley. “Welcome, Mr and Miss Potter, to Diagon Alley.”

The street was cobbled and the storefronts looked a bit old-fashioned, there were shops for robes, cauldrons, potions ingredients, broomsticks, wands… Harry grinned and leaned over to mutter in his sister's ear, “Oh look sis, bookshops.”

Artemis glared, “Like you're any better than me, we'll need to check our vault balance and budget. I'm sure Hogwarts will have a library anyway.”

“Indeed Miss Potter, the finest magical library in Britain. Do I understand that you are both avid readers?” The professor smiled down at them.

“Yes ma'am.” “Yes Professor.”

“Very good, we will start with Gringotts Bank to collect your money and as you said, you may request the balance of your vaults so as to help you plan for the future. Gringotts is the large white building at the of the alley, if we get separated at any point today please make your way to the steps and wait for me to come and find you. Do you understand?” She paused for them murmur an affirmative, “Please stay close to me while we are not inside a shop. This way children.” She led them through the crowds, a hand on each of their shoulders as the twins tried to look at everything at once.

“Now Gringotts is run by goblins, not humans. I realise this will most likely be the first time you have met a goblin, or any non-human for that matter but please keep in mind that it is rude to stare. Gringotts is the only wizarding bank in Britain and was founded by the goblin Gringott in 1474. You can store anything you like in your vaults as long as it fits and there is a service to exchange money for muggle money. Do you have any questions before we go in?”

“Do we have to prove our identity to get access to our vaults?” Harry piped up while Artemis frowned, thinking.

“No, I have your vault keys. As you will attend Hogwarts this year and do not have a guardian with access to Gringotts your vault keys were sent to Hogwarts as the Headmaster and your head of house act in loco parentis during the school year. This allows us to ensure that you gain access to your vaults before school starts if necessary, as it is in your case.” Her mouth thinned and jaw clenched. 

“That means 'in place of parents' right?” Artemis queried, “At what age will we be considered adults in the wizarding world and how does being underage impact our… Our finances?”

“Essentially yes, and witches and wizards come of age at seventeen. While you are underage you will each only have access to your trust vault which has a previously specified portion of your inheritance added to it each year, you will gain access to the rest of your inheritance upon coming of age. I believe further questions relating to your finances would be better answered by the goblins, if you are ready?” She motioned towards the large, silver bank doors.

Artemis swept her eyes quickly from goblin to goblin, avoiding staring at any one individual while Harry examined the carvings on the doors. Professor McGonagall strode quickly to an open teller's station while the twins tried to keep up without tripping over their own feet in their haste to look around.

“Good Morning,” Professor McGonagall stated quietly but firmly to the goblin teller, “Mr and Miss Potter wish to visit their vaults and I believe they also wish a statement of the total money in said vaults. Here are their keys.” She removed two small gold keys, seemingly from her sleeve, and placed them on the counter.

The goblin grunted sharply and examined the keys carefully before peering over the edge of the counter at the twins. Both standing slightly in front and to either side of their teacher, chins raised and standing as straight as they can. Professor McGonagall puts a hand on each of the shoulders closest to her and fixes the goblin with a stern stare. “That will not be a problem, will it.”

It should be a question the twins muse, but it really isn't one.

The goblin looks up sharply, “The keys seem to be in order, to clarify are you asking for the total value of both trust vaults or the separate values of both trust vaults and are you asking for a value of the Potter inheritance vault?”

Professor McGonagall looks down at the twins and raises an eyebrow.

Artemis clears her throat nervously and steps forward, “We would like to know the balance of our trust vaults separately, as well as any regular deposits that are made in them and the value of the inheritance vault separately.” She glanced at her brother and caught his eyes.

Harry took a deep breath and stepped forward, “We would also like to know how our inheritance will be split between us and confirm that we gain access to it on turning seventeen.”

The goblin seemed amused and Professor McGonagall was smiling slightly.

“I'll need a drop of blood to confirm your identity and right to knowledge of the Potter Inheritance vault and will, one of you please nick your thumb and press it to the parchment in the outlined box.” The goblin quickly filled out a form then handed the parchment down to Harry. The twins watched as he filled in another two forms, carefully laying the keys provided by Professor McGonagall in the outlined box.

Professor McGonagall withdrew her wand from her sleeve, “Well, if one of you will give me your hand?”

The twins glanced at each other before Artemis gamely held out her hand, palm up. The professor gently took Artemis' hand and placed her wand against her thumb, “Conscidisti admodum parva.”  
A small bead of blood welled up and Artemis carefully pressed it to the parchment her brother was holding flat against the desk facing them. While Harry carefully handed the newly bloody parchment back up to the goblin Artemis looked uncertainly back at Professor McGonagall as she waved her wand over the small cut with a muttered “Episkey,” and gave Artemis a small, approving smile.

The goblin examined the parchments carefully then passed the papers down, “May I assume you are content to share the statement on your inheritance? Otherwise Mr Potter will also need to verify his identity for a separate copy.”

“A shared copy will be fine thank-you,” Harry said politely.

“Very well then. If that is all I will have a cart operator take you to your vaults,” he turned to another goblin standing against the wall, “Griphook!”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed the story so far, while I do intend to finish this story updates will be irregular as work has to be my priority. I'll try to update at least once a month. :)  
> While I welcome constructive criticism I'm not interested in ranting and flames will be met with an eye-roll. If you don't like it stop reading it and don't waste both our time.  
> Relationships will develop later in the story when the kids are older so they won't come up for a while.  
> Please review if you'd like to continue reading, suggestions will be taken on board but not necessarily used as I have plans for how the storyline will develop.  
> Thank-you for taking the time to read my work and I hope you enjoyed it :)


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